Ethan Brown, founder and CEO of Beyond Meat, stands behind some of their products including the Beyond Burger 2.0, at the company's headquarters in El Segundo, Calif., on February 11, 2019.(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

The Los Angeles Lakers' JaVale McGee (7) blocks a shot by the Oklahoma City Thunder's Steven Adams in the first quarter on Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

By LZ GRANDERSONLos Angeles Times

Monday, February 18, 2019

Print

This is not the All-Star break Magic Johnson and LeBron James envisioned when the game’s best player announced he was joining the Los Angeles Lakers in July.

Still, there are some bright spots to this disappointing season, and high among them has to be the play of JaVale McGee. The last four seasons, the onetime Shaquille O’Neal punching bag has gone from being a joke, to a bit player on two championship teams, to a fairly important piece in the Lakers’ fleeting postseason hopes.

Although it’s not unusual for an athlete to have a late-career surge, the reason for McGee’s began when he gave up meat.

“I was in Dallas, and I had gained weight and knew becoming a vegetarian was the quickest way to lose it,” he said. “I just wasn’t sure if I could do it.”

It was 2015, and he was a bench player for the Mavericks struggling to find minutes. A trip to Whole Foods led to his discovery of a plant-based culinary company by the name of Beyond Meat — and with it, renewed energy.

“I was just looking for vegan stuff, saw the name and was like, ‘Let me try this,’ and it was really good,” McGee said. “Like I couldn’t tell the difference between that and meat. I thought, ‘If I can make it taste good and I’m not really a cook, imagine what a chef could do.’ ”

McGee is not the only NBA player who has found a liking to a plant-based diet via the El Segundo, Calif.-based company.

Beyond Meat is one of a growing list of companies developing meat substitutes, which Allied Market Research says will be a $7.5 billion market worldwide by 2025. Its biggest competitor is Impossible Foods, and other large companies are entering what is seen as a growth market. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, for example, has invested in both companies, and food giant Tyson Foods is an investor in Beyond Meat.

Beyond Meat has made a specific pitch to woo athletes to become evangelists for its product.

“I’m not the kind of person that forces things on people, but if you ask me about (it), I’m singing,” Jordan said.

Last month, Beyond Meat announced a partnership with Carl’s Jr. This week, it is expected to announce partnerships with the host of NBA players who consume the company’s burgers after games on a regular basis, including a commercial featuring Irving.

Players on the diet talked about having more energy and better recovery since eliminating meat products. McGee said his skin is clearer. Jordan talked about the positive influence on the environment, citing that it takes less water and emits fewer greenhouse gases to produce Beyond Meat than its beef counterparts.

In case you’re wondering if the athletes who rave about plant-based diets are only tricking themselves into thinking they have more energy, some nutritionists are backing them up. Nutrient Journal, a peer-reviewed science publication, recently released a study stating plant-based diets have consistently been shown to reduce body fat, increase vascular flow and tissue oxygenation.

“Diets emphasizing plant foods have also been shown to reduce indicators of inflammation,” the study found.

None of which is new information to nutritionist and New York Times best-selling author Cynthia Sass. She said in addition to the physical benefits, a plant-based diet may also lead to clearer thinking and better disposition. She said the biggest drawback for professional athletes is the commitment.

“It requires more nutrition knowledge in order to make choices that properly meet nutrient needs,” said Sass, who is currently a sports nutrition consultant for the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Nets. “It can also be challenging for athletes in team sports who may have less control over their meals when traveling and limited access to plant proteins and other key foods.”

Translation: It’s easy to eat healthy at home. It’s the road trips that can kill you.

If there was a checklist for a tasty product, Beyond Meat does a pretty good job. But people like what they like. And people like meat — moo meat.

Getting more of the masses to buy into a plant-based diet won’t be easy, which is why CEO Ethan Brown is hitching the company’s wagon to athletes.

They get us to buy shoes we don’t need and movies not worth watching. He believes if enough of them buy into his brand of healthful eating, it can spark a movement.

“They have the power to change the world,” Brown said. “I don’t know if they really feel that way yet, but it’s true. They have the opportunity to influence an entire generation of kids to eat healthier and help save the environment.”

Irving said he mentioned his diet change during an interview at the beginning of last season, and Beyond Meat offered to send him samples.

“I was noticing that I wasn’t able to recover as fast after games and workouts,” he said. “I did a lot of research and learned that my diet could be a factor.

“It was good timing as I was struggling to find quality plant-based foods that still had a lot of flavor.”

But can he and other NBA evangelists really get people to grill tasty sunflower seeds instead of ground beef?

“Not only do I think it will be a permanent change among athletes,” Irving said, “but I think we will see people who aren’t professional athletes making the change as well.”